UN talks neglect actions to avoid climate catastrophe
2013Christine Frank 2013-12Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 1 →
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Another two weeks of inter national climate talks were held last month, and it’s the same old story. The United Nations’ 19th Conference of the Parties (COP 19) failed to take concrete action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent catastrophic climate change. After nearly 20 years of pointless deliberations, the world is no closer to a solution to the global warming caused by fossil-fuel combustion.
The Polish government hosted the event at Warsaw’s national sports stadium, terming it a “Coal and Climate Summit” at which the coal industry played a prominent role, promoting the myth of “clean coal” and continued subsidies for the filthiest of fossil fuels.
Poland has significant coal de posits and is committed to not only mining and burning it well into the future but fracking extreme shale gas as well, making it clear that it’s going to be business as usual and to hell with the fate of the planet. This is the case even though 89% of the Polish people favor increasing re newable energy, according to a Green peace poll. The presence of the coal in dustry angered the NGOs, which staged a walkout of 800 delegates in protest as thousands demonstrated outside the stadium.
This ludicrous farce was played out in the wake of the strongest and dead liest storm on record in the Pacific, Su per Typhoon Haiyan, which had struck the Philippines. Yeb Sano, that devas tated country’s chief climate negotia launched the Industrial Revolution.
On the other hand, the five large de veloping nations with raging econo mies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (members of the BRICS grouping)—produce carbon emissions on a par with industrialized nations; yet, they demand to be left off the hook in reducing emissions. And several oil-rich and coal-rich nations in the Global South are of a like mind, maintaining that the historical responsibility lies with those lands first to industrialize.
The major issue, however, is that the world needs to leave all hydrocarbons in the ground across the board and re duce greenhouse gas emissions to zero from all sources as soon as possible through crash programs of renewable energy if there is to be any chance of Alik Kepliez / AP (Above) Climate justice activists march in Warsaw on Nov. 16, at start of UN conference.
averting an ecological cataclysm. These great undertakings can be funded by re-utilizing the war budgets of the rich nations.
(continued on page 3, in “Superb vote for Minneapolis socialist”)